WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.320 --> 00:00:06.919 The Boscombe Valley mystery. We were seated at breakfast one morning, 2 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:09.640 my wife and I when the maid brought in a telegram. 3 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:13.240 It was from Sherlock Holmes and ran in this way, 4 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:17.239 have you a couple of days to spare? Have just 5 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:19.839 been wired from the west of England in connection with 6 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:23.480 Boscombe Valley tragedy. Shall be glad if you will come 7 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:27.559 with me air and scenery perfect leave Paddington by the 8 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:31.519 eleven fifteen. What do you say, my dear, said my wife, 9 00:00:31.559 --> 00:00:35.079 looking across at me. Will you go? I really don't 10 00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:38.600 know what to say. I have a fairly long listed present. Oh, 11 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:41.799 Anstruther would do your work for you. You've been looking a 12 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:44.320 little pale lately. I think that the change would do 13 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:47.039 you good. And you are always so interested in mister 14 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:50.880 Sherlock Holmes's cases. I should be ungrateful if I were 15 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:54.799 not seeing what I gained through one of them. I answered, 16 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:57.719 But if I am to go, I must pack at once, 17 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:01.759 for I have only half an hour. My experience of 18 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:05.280 camp life in Afghanistan had at least had the effect 19 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:08.519 of making me a prompt and ready traveler. My wants 20 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:11.680 were few and simple, so that in less than the time, stated, 21 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:14.760 I was in a cab with my valise, rattling away 22 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:18.359 to Paddington Station. Sherlock Holmes was pacing up and down 23 00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:21.760 the platform, his tall, gaunt figure, made even gaunter and 24 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:25.519 taller by his long gray traveling cloak and close fitting 25 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:28.640 cloth cab. It is really very good of you to come, 26 00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:32.280 Watson said he. It makes a considerable difference to me 27 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:35.239 having someone with me on whom I can thoroughly rely. 28 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:40.280 Local aid is always either worthless or else biased. If 29 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:42.599 you will keep the two corner seats, I shall get 30 00:01:42.599 --> 00:01:46.879 the tickets. We had the carriage to ourselves, save for 31 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:50.359 an immense litter of papers, which Holmes had brought with him. 32 00:01:50.599 --> 00:01:54.079 Among these he rummaged and read, with intervals of note 33 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:58.719 taking and of meditation, until we were past reading. Then 34 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:02.000 he suddenly rolled them all into a gigantic ball and 35 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:05.159 toss them up on to the rack. Have you heard 36 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:08.120 anything of the case, he asked, Not a word. I 37 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:10.840 have not seen a paper for some days. The London 38 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:13.759 press has not had very full accounts. I have just 39 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:16.199 been looking through all the recent papers in order to 40 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:19.840 master the particulars. It seems from what I gather to 41 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:22.439 be one of those simple cases which are so extremely 42 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:27.800 difficult that sounds a little paradoxical, but it is profoundly true. 43 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:33.319 Singularity is almost invariably a clue. The more featureless and 44 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:36.479 commonplace a crime is, the more difficult is it to 45 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:40.080 bring it home. In this case, however, they have established 46 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:43.080 a very serious case against the son of the murdered man. 47 00:02:44.039 --> 00:02:47.280 Is it a murder, then well it is conjectured to 48 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:50.319 be so. I shall take nothing for granted until I 49 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:53.800 have the opportunity of looking personally into it. I will 50 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:56.639 explain the state of things to you as far as 51 00:02:56.680 --> 00:02:58.840 I have been able to understand it in a very 52 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:03.680 few words. Boscombe Valley is a country district not very 53 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:08.479 far from ross in Herefordshire. The largest landed proprietor in 54 00:03:08.520 --> 00:03:11.919 that part is a mister John Turner, who made his 55 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:14.800 money in Australia and returned some years ago to the 56 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:18.039 old country. One of the farms which he held, that 57 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:22.120 of Hatherley, was led to mister Charles McCarthy, who was 58 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:25.919 also an ex Australian. The men had known each other 59 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:28.360 in the colonies, so that it was not unnatural that 60 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:30.919 when they came to settle down, they should do so 61 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:34.479 as near each other as possible. Turner was apparently the 62 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:39.159 richer man, so McCarthy became his tenant, but still remained, 63 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:42.520 it seems, upon terms of perfect equality, as they were 64 00:03:42.520 --> 00:03:47.520 frequently together. McCarthy had one son, a lad of eighteen, 65 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:51.800 and Turner had an only daughter of the same age, 66 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:56.120 but neither of them had wives living. They appear to 67 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:59.520 have avoided the society of the neighboring English families and 68 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:03.400 to have led retired lives, though both of the McCarthys 69 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:06.479 were fond of sport and were frequently seen at the 70 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:10.639 race meetings of the neighborhood. McCarthy kept two servants, a 71 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:14.800 man and a girl. Turner had a considerable household, some 72 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:18.040 half dozen at the least. That is as much as 73 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:20.279 I have been able to gather about the families. Now 74 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:24.040 for the facts. On June third, that is, on Monday last, 75 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:26.879 McCarthy left his house at Havily about three in the 76 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:31.120 afternoon and walked down to the Boscombe Pool, which is 77 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:33.319 a small lake formed by the spreading out of the 78 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:37.959 stream which runs down the Boscombe Valley. He had been 79 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:40.360 out with his serving man in the morning at Ross 80 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:42.639 and he had told the man that he must hurry, 81 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:46.399 as he had an appointment of importance to keep at three. 82 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:51.439 From that appointment, he never came back alive. From Hatherley 83 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:54.040 Farmhouse to the Boscombe Pool is a quarter of a mile, 84 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:57.600 and two people saw him as he passed over this ground. 85 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:01.079 One was an old woman whose name is not mentioned, 86 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:05.480 and the other was William Crowder, a gamekeeper in the 87 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:09.959 employ of mister Turner. Both these witnesses deposed that mister 88 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:14.319 McCarthy was walking alone. The gamekeeper adds that within a 89 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:17.360 few minutes of his seeing mister McCarthy pass he had 90 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:20.560 seen his son, mister James McCarthy, going the same way 91 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:23.680 with a gun under his arm. To the best of 92 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:26.560 his belief, the father was actually in sight at the 93 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:30.199 time and the son was following him. He thought no 94 00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:32.920 more of the matter until he heard in the evening 95 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:37.240 of the tragedy that had occurred. The two McCarthys were 96 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:41.120 seen after the time when William Crowder, the gamekeeper, lost 97 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:44.800 sight of them. The Boscombe Pool is thickly wooded round, 98 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:47.920 with just a fringe of grass and of reeds round 99 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:51.399 the edge. A girl of fourteen, Patience Moran, who is 100 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:54.279 the daughter of the lodge keeper of the Boscombe Valley estate, 101 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:58.160 was in one of the woods picking flowers. She states 102 00:05:58.199 --> 00:06:00.600 that while she was there she saw the border of 103 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:03.800 the wood and close by the lake, mister McCarthy and 104 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:07.040 his son, and that they appeared to be having a 105 00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:11.519 violent quarrel. She heard mister McCarthy the elder, using very 106 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:14.720 strong language to his son, and she saw the latter 107 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:17.319 raise up his hand as if to strike his father. 108 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:20.800 She was so frightened by their violence that she ran 109 00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:23.519 away and told her mother when she reached home that 110 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:26.600 she had left the two McCarthys quarreling near Boscombe Pool, 111 00:06:27.160 --> 00:06:29.439 and that she was afraid that they were going to fight. 112 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:33.560 She had hardly said the words when young mister McCarthy 113 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:35.759 came running up to the lodge to say that he 114 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:38.720 had found his father dead in the wood and to 115 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:41.759 ask for the help of the lodge keeper. He was 116 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:45.480 much excited, without either his gun or his hat, and 117 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:48.480 his right hand and sleeve were observed to be stained 118 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:52.439 with fresh blood. On following him, they found the dead 119 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:55.680 body of his father stretched out upon the grass beside 120 00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:59.560 the pool. The head had been beaten in by repeated 121 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:03.920 blows of some heavy and blunt weapon. The injuries were 122 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:06.240 such as might very well have been inflicted by the 123 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:09.639 butt end of his son's gun, which was found lying 124 00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:11.879 on the grass within a few paces of the body. 125 00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:17.000 Under these circumstances, the young man was instantly arrested, and 126 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:19.800 a verdict of wilful murder having been returned at the 127 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:22.839 inquest on Tuesday, he was on Wednesday brought before the 128 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:26.079 magistrates at Ross, who have referred the case to the 129 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:29.560 next assizes. Those are the main facts of the case 130 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:32.079 as they came out before the coroner and at the 131 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:35.839 police court. I could hardly imagine a more damning case. 132 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:40.120 I remarked, If ever circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal, 133 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:44.879 it does so here. Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing, 134 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:49.279 answered Holmes thoughtfully. It may seem to point very straight 135 00:07:49.319 --> 00:07:52.399 to one thing, but if you shift your own point 136 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:54.680 of view a little, you may find it pointing in 137 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:59.920 an equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different. It must 138 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:03.319 be confessed, however, that the case looks exceedingly grave against 139 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:05.839 the young man, and it is very possible that he 140 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:09.600 is indeed the culprit. There are several people in the neighborhood, however, 141 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:13.319 and among them Miss Turner, the daughter of the neighboring landowner, 142 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:17.480 who believe in his innocence, and who have retained Lestrade, 143 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:20.879 whom you may remember in connection with the study in Scarlet, 144 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:25.560 to work out the case in his interest. Lestrade, being 145 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:29.439 rather puzzled, has referred the case to me, and hence 146 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:32.720 it is two middle aged gentlemen are flying westward at 147 00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:36.799 fifty miles an hour instead of quietly digesting their breakfasts 148 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:40.000 at home. I am afraid, said I, that the facts 149 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:42.840 are so obvious that you will find little credit to 150 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:46.000 be gained out of this case. There is nothing more 151 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:51.200 deceptive than an obvious fact, he answered, laughing. Besides, we 152 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:54.600 may chance to hit upon some other obvious facts which 153 00:08:54.679 --> 00:08:57.879 may have been by no means obvious to mister Lestrade. 154 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:00.399 You know me too well to think that I am 155 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:03.679 boasting when I say that I shall either confirm or 156 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:08.000 destroy his theory by means which he is quite incapable 157 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:13.279 of employing, or even of understanding. To take the first 158 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:16.639 example in hand, I very clearly perceive that in your 159 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:21.120 bedroom the window is upon the right hand side. And 160 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:24.000 yet I question whether mister Lestrade would have noted even 161 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:27.480 so self evident a thing as that. How on earth, 162 00:09:27.639 --> 00:09:31.480 my dear fellow, I know you well, I know the 163 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:36.639 military neatness which characterizes you. You shave every morning, and 164 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:40.559 in this season you shave by the sunlight. But since 165 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:43.320 your shaving is less and less complete as we get 166 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:47.559 farther back on the left side, until it becomes positively slovenly, 167 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:50.120 as we get round the angle of the jaw, it 168 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:53.080 is surely very clear that that side is less well 169 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:56.639 illuminated than the other. I could not imagine a man 170 00:09:56.679 --> 00:09:59.320 of your habits looking at himself in an equal light 171 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:03.120 and being satisfied with such a result. I only quote 172 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:07.639 this as a trivial example of observation and inference. Therein 173 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:11.200 lies my metier, and it is just possible that it 174 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:13.759 may be of some service in the investigation which lies 175 00:10:13.799 --> 00:10:16.480 before us. There are one or two minor points which 176 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:20.080 were brought out in the inquest, and which are worth considering. 177 00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:24.879 What are they? It appears that his arrest did not 178 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:28.799 take place at once, but after the return to Havily Farm, 179 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:32.440 on the Inspector of Constabulary informing him that he was 180 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:34.960 a prisoner, he remarked that he was not surprised to 181 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:37.679 hear it, and it was no more than his deserts. 182 00:10:39.159 --> 00:10:41.879 This observation of his had the natural effect of removing 183 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:44.879 any traces of doubt which might have remained in the 184 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:50.919 minds of the coroner's jury. It was a confession I ejaculated, no, 185 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:54.919 for it was followed by a protestation of innocence. Coming 186 00:10:54.919 --> 00:10:57.120 on the top of such a damning series of events, 187 00:10:57.639 --> 00:11:01.480 it was at least a most suspicious remark. On the contrary, 188 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:03.960 said Holmes, it is the brightest rift which I can 189 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:07.519 at present see in the clouds. However innocent he might be, 190 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:10.799 he could not be such an absolute imbecile as not 191 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:14.639 to see that the circumstances were very black against him. 192 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:17.639 Had he appeared surprised at his own arrest or feigned 193 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:20.480 indignation at it, I should have looked upon it as 194 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:24.320 highly suspicious, because such surprise or anger would not be 195 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:27.639 natural under the circumstances, and yet might appear to be 196 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:31.960 the best policy to a scheming man. His frank acceptance 197 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.120 of the situation marks him as either an innocent man, 198 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:39.360 or else as a man of considerable self restraint and firmness. 199 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:44.080 As to his remark, about his deserts. It was also 200 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:47.159 not unnatural if you consider that he stood by the 201 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:49.960 dead body of his father, and that there is no 202 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.679 doubt that he had that very day so far forgotten 203 00:11:52.679 --> 00:11:56.399 his filial duty as to bandy words with him, and 204 00:11:56.559 --> 00:11:59.559 even according to the little girl, whose evidence is so important, 205 00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:03.320 to raise his hand as if to strike him. The 206 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:06.639 self reproach and contrition which are displayed in his remark 207 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:09.399 appear to me to be the signs of a healthy mind, 208 00:12:09.879 --> 00:12:13.639 rather than of a guilty one. I shook my head. 209 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:17.879 Many men have been hanged on far slighter evidence, I remarked, 210 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:21.840 So they have, and many men have been wrongfully hanged. 211 00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:25.039 What is the young man's own account of the matter. 212 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:29.480 It is, I am afraid, not very encouraging to his supporters, 213 00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:32.120 though there are one or two points in it which 214 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:36.120 are suggestive. You will find it here and may read 215 00:12:36.120 --> 00:12:39.639 it for yourself. He picked out from his bundle a 216 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:43.720 copy of the local Herefordshire paper, and, having turned down 217 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:46.600 the sheet, he pointed out the paragraph in which the 218 00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:49.519 unfortunate young man had given his own statement of what 219 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:53.320 had occurred. I settled myself down in the corner of 220 00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:57.240 the carriage and read it very carefully it ran in 221 00:12:57.320 --> 00:13:00.840 this way. Mister James mc carthy, the only son of 222 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:05.240 the deceased, was then called and gave evidence as follows. 223 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:08.399 I had been away from home for three days at Bristol, 224 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:11.919 and had only just returned upon the morning of last 225 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:15.919 Monday the third. My father was absent from home at 226 00:13:15.919 --> 00:13:18.799 the time of my arrival, and I was informed by 227 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:21.200 the maid that he had driven over to rass with 228 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:25.519 John Cobb, the groom. Shortly after my return, I heard 229 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:28.039 the wheels of his trap in the yard, and looking 230 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:30.480 out of my window, I saw him get out and 231 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:33.799 walk rapidly out of the yard, though I was not 232 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:37.559 aware in which direction he was going. I then took 233 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:40.080 my gun and strolled out in the direction of the 234 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:44.120 Boscombe Pool, with the intention of visiting the rabbit warren, 235 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:47.480 which is upon the other side. On my way I 236 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:50.679 saw William Crowder, the gamekeeper, as he has stated in 237 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:53.200 his evidence, but he is mistaken in thinking that I 238 00:13:53.320 --> 00:13:56.480 was following my father. I had no idea that he 239 00:13:56.519 --> 00:13:59.759 was in front of me. When about a hundred yards 240 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:03.480 from the pool, I heard a cry of cooi, which 241 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:07.200 was a usual signal between my father and myself. I 242 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:09.919 then hurried forward and found him standing by the pool. 243 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:13.840 He appeared to be much surprised at seeing me, and 244 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:17.320 asked me rather roughly what I was doing there. A 245 00:14:17.399 --> 00:14:22.159 conversation ensued which led to high words and almost to blows, 246 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:25.120 For my father was a man of a very violent temper. 247 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:29.440 Seeing that his passion was becoming ungovernable, I left him 248 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.600 and returned towards Hatherley Farm. I had not gone more 249 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:36.159 than one hundred and fifty yards, however, when I heard 250 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:40.000 a hideous outcry behind me, which caused me to run 251 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:43.879 back again. I found my father expiring on the ground, 252 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:47.000 with his head terribly injured. I dropped my gun and 253 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:51.159 held him in my arms, but he almost instantly expired. 254 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:55.600 I knelt beside him for some minutes, and then made 255 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:59.200 my way to mister Turner's lodge, keeper his house, being 256 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:02.639 the nearest to asked for assistance. I saw no one 257 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:05.600 near my father when I returned, and I have no 258 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:09.080 idea how he came by his injuries. He was not 259 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:12.720 a popular man, being somewhat cold and forbidding in his manners, 260 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:16.039 but he had, as far as I know, no active enemies. 261 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:21.200 I know nothing further of the matter, the Coroner. Did 262 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:25.240 your father make any statement to you before he died? Witness? 263 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:28.279 He mumbled a few words, but I could only catch 264 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:32.559 some allusion to a rat. The Coroner. What did you 265 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:37.039 understand by that? Witness? It conveyed no meaning to me. 266 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:41.200 I thought that he was delirious, the Coroner. What was 267 00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:43.360 the point upon which you and your father had this 268 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:49.240 final quarrel? Witness, I should prefer not to answer, the Coroner. 269 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:52.960 I am afraid that I must press it, Witness. It 270 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:54.919 is really impossible for me to tell you. I can 271 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:57.320 assure you that it has nothing to do with the 272 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:02.519 sad tragedy which Followedgner. That is for the court to decide. 273 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:05.039 I need not point out to you that your refusal 274 00:16:05.080 --> 00:16:08.559 to answer will prejudice your case considerably in any future 275 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:15.159 proceedings which may arise. Witness. I must still refuse the Coroner. 276 00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:19.000 I understand that the cry of coui was a common 277 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:24.080 signal between you and your father, Witness it was the coroner. 278 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:26.799 How was it then that he uttered it before he 279 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:29.919 saw you, and before he even knew that you had 280 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:36.200 returned from Bristol? Witness with considerable confusion, I do not 281 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:40.840 know a juryman, did you see anything which aroused your 282 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:44.679 suspicions when you returned on hearing the cry and found 283 00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:50.720 your father fatally injured? Witness, nothing definite? The coroner, what 284 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:54.919 do you mean, Witness, I was so disturbed and excited 285 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:57.200 as I rushed out into the open that I could 286 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:00.639 think of nothing except my father. I have a vague 287 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:03.799 impression that as I ran forward, something lay upon the 288 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:06.759 ground to the left of me. It seemed to me 289 00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:09.400 to be something gray in color, a coat of some sort, 290 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:12.920 or a plaid. Perhaps. When I rose from my father, 291 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:16.680 I looked round for it, but it was gone. Do 292 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:19.839 you mean that it disappeared before you went for help? Yes, 293 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:23.640 it was gone. You cannot say what it was. No, 294 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:26.680 I had a feeling something was there. How far from 295 00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:30.240 the body a dozen yards or so, and how far 296 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:34.160 from the edge of the wood about the same. Then, 297 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:36.559 if it was removed, it was while you were within 298 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:39.759 a dozen yards of it, Yes, but with my back 299 00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:45.599 towards it. This concluded the examination of the witness. I see, 300 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:48.839 said I as I glanced down the column that the coroner, 301 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:53.799 in his concluding remarks was rather severe upon young McCarthy. 302 00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:58.319 He calls attention and with reason to the discrepancy about 303 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:02.400 his father having signaled to him before seeing him, also 304 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:05.319 to his refusal to give details of his conversation with 305 00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:09.759 his father, and his singular account of his father's dying words. 306 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:14.119 They are all, as he remarks, very much against the son. 307 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:19.839 Holmes laughed softly to himself and stretched himself out upon 308 00:18:19.880 --> 00:18:24.000 the cushioned seat. Both you and the coroner have been 309 00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:27.519 at some pains, said he to single out the very 310 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:31.799 strongest points in the young man's favor. Don't you see 311 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:35.640 that you alternately give him credit for having too much 312 00:18:35.640 --> 00:18:41.079 imagination and too little. Too little if he could not 313 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:43.559 invent a cause of quarrel which would give him the 314 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:48.279 sympathy of the jury, too much, if he evolved from 315 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:52.839 his own inner consciousness, anything so outrey as a dying 316 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:57.440 reference to a rat and the incident of the vanishing cloth. No, Sir, 317 00:18:57.519 --> 00:18:59.599 I shall approach this case from the point of view 318 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:03.079 that this young man says is true, and we shall 319 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:08.160 see whither that hypothesis will lead us. And now here 320 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:12.160 is my pocket, petrarch, And not another word shall I 321 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:15.079 say of this case until we are on the scene 322 00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:18.559 of action. We lunch at Swindon and I see that 323 00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:22.880 we shall be there in twenty minutes. It was nearly 324 00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:26.000 four o'clock when we, at last, after passing through the 325 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:29.759 beautiful strewed valley and over the broad gleaming seven, found 326 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:33.880 ourselves at the pretty little country town of Ross. A 327 00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:37.400 lean ferret like man, furtive and sly looking, was waiting 328 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:40.680 for us upon the platform. In spite of the light 329 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:43.519 brown dust coat and leather leggings which he wore in 330 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:47.240 deference to his rustic surroundings, I had no difficulty in 331 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:52.119 recognizing Lestrade of Scotland. Yard. With him, we drove to 332 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:55.759 the Hereford Arms, where a room had already been engaged 333 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:59.720 for us. I have ordered a carriage, said Lestrade, as 334 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:02.319 we say over a cup of tea. I knew your 335 00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:05.240 energetic nature and that you would not be happy until 336 00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:07.799 you had been on the scene of the crime. It 337 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:11.359 was very nice and complimentary of you. Holmes answered, it 338 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:16.599 is entirely a question of barometric pressure. Lestrade looked startled. 339 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:19.880 I do not quite follow, he said, how is the 340 00:20:19.880 --> 00:20:23.640 glass twenty nine? I see no wind and not a 341 00:20:23.640 --> 00:20:26.440 cloud in the sky. I have a case full of 342 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:29.559 cigarettes here which needs smoking, and the sofa is very 343 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:33.960 much superior to the usual country hotel abomination. I do 344 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:36.440 not think that it is probable that I shall use 345 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:41.880 the carriage to night, Lestrade laughed indulgently. You have no 346 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:45.640 doubt already formed your conclusions from the newspapers, he said. 347 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:49.519 The case is as plain as a pike staff, and 348 00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:52.839 the more one goes into it, the plainer it becomes. Still. 349 00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:55.640 Of course, one can't refuse a lady, and such a 350 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:59.279 very positive one too. She had heard of you and 351 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:02.279 would have your opinion, though I repeatedly told her that 352 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:04.519 there was nothing which you could do which I had 353 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:08.160 not already done. Why, bless my soul, here is her 354 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:12.119 carriage at the door. He had hardly spoken before there 355 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:14.599 rushed into the room one of the most lovely young 356 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:17.960 women that I have ever seen in my life, her 357 00:21:18.039 --> 00:21:21.720 violet eyes shining, her lips parted, a pink flush upon 358 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:25.440 her cheeks. All thought of her natural reserve lost in 359 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:30.720 her overpowering excitement and concern. Oh, mister Sherlock Holmes, she cried, 360 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:33.920 glancing from one to the other of us, and finally, 361 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:38.279 with a woman's quick intuition fastening upon my companion, I 362 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:40.839 am so glad that you have come I have driven 363 00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:43.920 down to tell you so I know that James didn't 364 00:21:43.960 --> 00:21:46.200 do it. I know it, and I want you to 365 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:50.119 start upon your work knowing it too. Never let yourself 366 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:53.279 doubt upon that point. We have known each other since 367 00:21:53.319 --> 00:21:56.079 we were little children, and I know his faults as 368 00:21:56.119 --> 00:21:58.680 no one else does. But he is too tender hearted 369 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:01.960 to her to fly such a charge is absurd to 370 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:05.160 any one who really knows him. I hope we may 371 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:08.400 clear him, Miss Turner, said, Sherlock Holmes. You may rely 372 00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:11.480 upon my doing all that I can. But you have 373 00:22:11.559 --> 00:22:15.279 read the evidence. You have formed some conclusion. Do you 374 00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:19.119 not see some loophole, some floor? Do you not yourself 375 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:22.759 think that he is innocent? I think that is very probable. 376 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:26.559 There now, she cried, throwing back her head and looking 377 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:31.720 defiantly at Lestrade. You hear he gives me hope. Lestrade 378 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:35.200 shrugged his shoulders. I am afraid that my colleague has 379 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:38.359 been a little quick in forming his conclusions, he said, 380 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:41.160 But he is right. Oh, I know that he is right. 381 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:44.839 James never did it. And about his quarrel with his father, 382 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:46.839 I am sure that the reason why he would not 383 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:49.559 speak about it to the coroner was because I was 384 00:22:49.640 --> 00:22:53.880 concerned in it in what way? Asked Holmes. It is 385 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:57.079 no time for me to hide anything. James and his 386 00:22:57.160 --> 00:23:01.079 father had many disagreements about me. Mister mc carthy was 387 00:23:01.240 --> 00:23:04.240 very anxious that there should be a marriage between us. 388 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:06.960 James and I have always loved each other as brother 389 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:09.920 and sister. But of course he is young and has 390 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:13.319 seen very little of life yet, and and well, he 391 00:23:13.400 --> 00:23:15.799 naturally did not wish to do anything like that yet. 392 00:23:16.839 --> 00:23:18.880 So there were quarrels, and this, I am sure was 393 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:22.839 one of them. And your father, asked Holmes, was he 394 00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:26.119 in favor of such a union? No, he was averse 395 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:29.160 to it. Also, No one but mister mc carthy was 396 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:32.640 in favor of it. A quick blush passed over her 397 00:23:32.680 --> 00:23:36.279 fresh young face as Holmes shot one of his keen 398 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:40.960 questioning glances at her. Thank you for this information, said he. 399 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:44.039 May I see your father if I call to morrow. 400 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:48.799 I'm afraid the doctor won't allow it. The doctor, yes, 401 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:51.839